Clockwise from far left: Ada riding Gelert; view from Cnicht; Ada on a National Trust path; canoeing, Eryri National Park; Cnicht this way
their shoes and hopped between them. Towards the end of the week, when I’m itching to hike and the rest of the family are a bit hiked out and just happy relaxing at the campsite, I eschew a chance at Yr Wyddfa (thinking of those queues for the summit that draw a less appealing similarity to Everest) and instead hike ‘Snowdonia’s Matterhorn’, or Cnicht. Much quicker, no queues (only a handful of other hikers), just the right amount of scrambling, and views to the sea. Now that’s it’s been scouted out, next year we may have a family crack at Cnicht, particularly as we have the snack strategy already tried and tested.
the lowdown
little more ambitious. With the skies bright blue and the distant waterfalls like seams of white marble, we made our way along snaking roads, over a bridge straddling a gorge, to the beginning of a National Trust trail. The organisation helps maintain several excellent walks and historic buildings in the area (Craflwyn Estate, near Beddgelert, has a display about the Gwynedd Princes and a walk up to Dinas Emrys – the birthplace of Wales’s red dragon). The one we found, a little further south, was good for kids who are building their endurance and enjoyment of hiking. The path follows a steady, easy incline, running alongside a river that dives out of sight, occasionally tumbling into picturesque falls. You quickly feel submerged in the landscape, the smell of bracken in the warm air, distant peaks appearing behind small seas of rolling foothills. For some of the path, wide flat stones are laid out. Ada and Rafe kicked off
HOW TO GET THERE London to Llyn Gwynant, from 4 hours Drive north on M1 and A5, then take A55 and A470 through Eryri National Park. WHERE TO STAY Llyn Gwynant Campsite (2 adults, 2 children) from £45 per night gwynant.uk The Pen-Y-Gwryd Hotel, Premium Double (2 adults, 2 children) from £168 per night GOOD TO KNOW Information on Eryri National Park visitsnowdonia.info
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